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Ragnarokkr Metal Apocalypse 2015 Concert Review, Chicago, IL, May 1 & 2, 2015

Wow. What another great weekend in Chicago. This was my second year attending this festival and it was a lot of fun, albeit tiring.

Like last year, Kelz flew in from NC and met me at the airport on Thursday. Local friends Rodney and Brent also flew along and we all rode together to the hotel. We chilled out for a bit at the hotel then headed over to a pizza place to meet with some fest regulars prior to the pre-party. I wasn’t so into my pizza but the Peroni on tap was right on. After eating we headed over to a great dive called The Mutiny and rocked out some great old metal. There were a few merch vendors as well. I was pretty worn out and so were Chris and Rodney so we headed back to the hotel. We had a long day ahead.

Early Friday consisted of going to Portillo’s for lunch and inhaling their incredible Italian beef sandwich. So incredibly awesome. Afterwards I napped. I wanted to get to Reggie’s for the fest as the doors were opening, mainly to catch Satan’s Hallow in which a good friend plays guitar. They’re a newer band and have only released 2 songs, but those songs are great. They were great! I really love Mandy’s vocal delivery and the riffs are good. New pal, Poncho, was filling in on bass and was absolutely badass. I see good things ahead for this band.

Twisted Tower Dire was up next and I had last seen them in 1999 with the old singer. Their power metal set was solid and they now share singer and a guitarist with Walpyrgus.

Cleveland’s Vatican came on next and I caught most of their set. Vince and company laid it down playing most of their Metalmorphosis re-release. They were fun to watch and their singer has some serious pipes. Added bonus getting those guys added to The Book!

With the fest having two stages, bands overlap and during Vatican’s set, Hessian started on the smaller stage and I wanted to catch a little of their set. While they were solid, they weren’t my thing.

Back to the main stage for my friends, Dantesco. I met them in Puerto Rico last year and was excited to see them. They were great. Powerful, heavy and Erico’s vocals were right on point. The crowd dug them a lot.

Back to the smaller stage for Kantation which featured Martin Debourge who fronted a more recent version of Damien Thorne. His vocals sounded great and the band was solid. Martin’s a good dude.

Salem’s Wych was up next and their set was a little loose. This was their first show since the 80s. Pretty legendary though.

I saw just a little of Beyond Fallen but wanted to catch Q5 on the main stage. They sounded really good. They were one of the biggest surprises to me. I had listened to them back in the old days but it didn’t catch on with me. I got to meet them in the green room before the show and they were super cool. Three original members got added to The Book.

I caught most of Ostrogoth’s set and they were pretty good. Their drummer is the only original member left and he’s an awesome guy. I caught a little bit of Iron Finger and they were ok, solid, but not my thing.

Then…LIEGE LORD. I’ve been a fan since randomly buying Burn to My Touch based on having an album cover by Ioannis (Fates Warning, Warlord, Obsession). Let’s make no mistake about it, I prefer the Andy Michaud era. Master Control never did anything for me but I was still stoked to see them live. They were another band I got to meet prior to them hitting the stage and they were all cool dudes. When showing Joe Comeau The Book, he said, “Ah cool. I have one of these” and continued to tell me a story about the promo shoot that the photo (see below) was taken from. Only original member, Tony Truglio, was also very nice. They opened with 2 from Master Control then Dark Take from Freedom’s Rise. Cast Out from Burn to My Touch was next and it sounded awesome. The band was tight and the crowd was loving it. They rolled through Rainbow’s Kill The King, a couple more from Master then went into Speed of Sound. I nearly lost my shit on that one. One of my favorites from Burn. Their whole set was good and I was so glad I finally got to see them. Then back to the hotel for the typical late night jibber jabber and sleep.

Saturday, Kelz and I went to a taqueria and had some awesome food. Afterwards we drove over to Cabrini-Green, the site that the TV show Good Times was based on. That used to be a very rough area. “The projects”. Now it’s all condos and heavily gentrified. Was hoping for some sort of historical monument to JJ and the family but it was nowhere to be found.

Saturday’s show started a little earlier at 4:30 and got started with Kentucky’s Savage Master. They were solid but not completely my thing. There’s a buzz about them and I think it’s mainly because of the scantily clad singer. I’m not much of a fan of her vocal delivery and I think she could work on her stage presence a little. The rest of the band is dressed in black hoods and the whole thing reminded me of the band Bitch being backed up by The Mentors. I think a little tweaking could get their live show more exciting. Nice folks, though.

Crumble came on the small stage and I caught a little of it. By “a little” I mean less than one song.

Züül was up next on the main stage and the singer announced that it was their last show ever. I had seen them a time or two before in Austin and enjoyed them. They sounded good in Chicago as well but the singer seemed to be having a few vocal issues. He was lacking some of the power he normally has. Still sounded good.

Skelator was up next and delivered their sword-wielding metal the masses that were really just starting to roll in. They sounded great but I only caught about half of their set as I needed to catch Moros Nyx on the small stage.

Moros Nyx has the drummer for Satan’s Hallow on bass. This was their first show and they did a great job. Looking forward to more from these guys. Their drummer is a bad ass.

Back to the big room for the return of Skullview. I’ve always liked their debut quite a bit and it was good seeing them finally. Especially good to finally meet their guitarist, Dean. We’ve known each other from online forums for a long time. Their singer has an enormous range, but antics I saw before and after the show pretty much let me know that I can’t care to see him again. I stayed for half of the set and went back to the small stage.

Hrom was up next and they were powerful with yet another singer with a great high range. Nice kids, too.

I went back to the main room to catch a little of Chicago’s reunited Aftermath. They were good straight up thrash and super nice guys.

I went back to the small room and waited for Walpyrgus to come on. This band features members of Twisted Tower Dire as mentioned above. They put on a great set. Would like to see them again.

As soon as they were done I rushed back over to catch High Spirits. I really enjoy this band. Good, straight up hard rock and I really like Chris’ vocal delivery. “Without Zuul, there would be be no High Spirits,” Chris said. He’s good at working the crowd too. When I saw them in San Antonio, he was on bass but had a full backing band for this show.

I caught a little of Coven 13 but it wasn’t my thing.

Coming up next…ATTACKER! Another band I’ve loved since their debut, Battle At Helms Deep. That album rules. I’ve no problem admitting that I didn’t care much for the follow up, Second Coming. But no matter. I was finally getting to see them live. They opened with The Hermit from their debut and the crowd went nuts. The band was tight and most recent singer, Bobby Lucas, sounded great. Original drummer, Mike Sabatini, and guitarist, Pat Marinelli were great as well as the rest of the band. Their set was great and very tight.

Wretch played the small stage and they were another band who was solid, but I didn’t get to see enough to really form an opinion. We were so hungry we went next door to grab a burger.

Upon returning, The Rods were already playing the main stage. I’ve seen them before and I am 0.0% a fan of them. Their brand of hard rock just never caught on with me.

Nuclear Assault was on next, but again, I’m not really a fan. I had met and seen them live in 2003 in Norfolk, VA and got Dan and John to sign The Book. Glenn signed in the green room earlier that evening. The room was packed and there was a big pit going. I saw about 1.5 songs and retreated to the small room where all bands had finished for the night. Kelz and I got to sit and hang out with Sabatini and just talk about stuff. We talked with him for a long time and he was very cordial. “Playing festivals like this is great, but we all have jobs.” It was great hanging out with him and the rest of the band.

What a great night and fun festival. After Nuclear Assault, we were all dog tired and went out to the street to say goodbyes to all of our friends. I hope they continue to get quality bands for next future fests. My band, Eternal Champion, was originally slated to play but had to back out a few months ago. Warlord was also originally booked but backed out. That was a crushing blow for me.

Click here to see the setlists from the festival.

Mouse over or click photos to see captions.